Goodnight, My Sweet Husband
by Lily1986
Summary: The final scenes of the series finale altered. Instead of it just being all about Merthur, I've added Gwen into the mix. Because as the king's wife, Merlin should have had the foresight and decency to include her.


**AN:** I know that I've already written two other stories about the finale and now this is my third... it's because I've come up with three different ways that I could have fixed their ending and still given them the ending that they wanted. They wanted to kill Arthur... fine... but there were ways to doing it that would still give your audience hope. They just didn't do that. This story literally woke me up. I was having this as a dream and I thought... what the hell... I'll write it real quick. So this was written in like 20 minutes, re-read once to check for mistakes and uploaded. So its not beta'd. Any mistakes in grammar or spelling are mine but I blame Julian Murphy for them... also, I'm putting this under Arwen because that's my OTP... but this story has Merthur, Arwen, Perthur, and Merwen. Especially Merwen. Honestly, this story should have gone under the Gwen and Merlin tag because it's mostly about them and their closure and how they handle Arthur's death and destiny. But there's a little bit in it for everyone. I didn't cut out the queer baiting scenes that Julian Murphy insisted would be in the finale between Merlin and Arthur's dead body. I had no idea that Murphy was a necrophiliac, but to each his own. Whatever tickled your pickle, Mr. Murphy. In your defense, Bradley still looked hot as a corpse, but still... I like my romance to feature TWO living people. I've got standards. Anyway, you can read and review... I accept all forms of reviews... whether they be full of love or full of hate. No, really... I don't care. Just review it... even if you want to do it anonymously and tell me you hate me for what I said about Julian Murphy... DO IT! I want to know what you think! :)

* * *

The king was dead.

Merlin held his friend a lot longer than he probably should have. He thought if he could just hold on a little longer, Arthur would too. Everything he'd done, all that he'd accomplished, didn't even matter anymore. Regardless, if the Great Dragon had told him plainly that Albion lived; Merlin didn't find that he cared, because there was no Albion if Arthur wasn't around to live in it. Grass crunching caught his attention and he snapped his head toward the unwelcome intrusion, ready to blast anyone who dared sneak up on him and his fallen friend.

"Merlin…"

He sighed recognizing the shadows of the knight.

"Percival…" Merlin hiccupped. He hadn't wanted anyone else to see Arthur like this. He would have preferred if everyone remembered him as he was, alive.

"What… I found Morgana… She's-"

"I killed her." Merlin interrupted.

"But… how?" Percival asked. Nothing made sense anymore. Morgana could not be killed with a mortal blade. He'd seen that just a day ago when Gwaine died.

"With Arthur's sword…" Merlin answered letting go of Arthur's lifeless corpse and standing to face his friend. "It wasn't a regular sword."

"Is he…" Percival knew he was. He'd seen enough fallen soldiers in battle to know what the dead looked like. He'd recently lost two of his closest brothers in arms. He knew Arthur was gone. But he still needed his young friend to confirm it.

"Yes…" Merlin nodded solemnly. "He's gone." He looked up at Percival as an idea struck him. He wasn't going to bring her here. He didn't want her to see him like this. But he owed it to her. And Arthur would have wanted her to get a chance to say goodbye. A chance that he never got with his own parents. "You have to bring the Queen here. As soon as you can. You can't waste any time. And don't bring anyone else. Just Gwen."

"But…"

"Don't question me right now, Percival." Merlin growled. "Just do it."

Merlin had never given them orders before. He'd never seen the young servant so assertive in all the time he'd known him. He nodded numbly, knowing he could not refuse the simple request. He turned to go back to his horse sadly. If Merlin wanted Gwen to be there, for whatever reason, to see what he just saw then Merlin must have good reason. That's what Percival kept telling himself as he galloped toward Camelot at rapid speed anyway.

* * *

He'd been able to conjure a small boat and prepared it for burial before gently placing Arthur on it. He was no longer being careful about hiding his magic. It didn't matter anymore. The one person he spent half his life hiding it from learned the truth and took it with him to his grave. He heard the horse's gallops as it approached. He smiled softly at Percival's blind loyalty even when he didn't truly understand the command. He was folding Arthur's dead hands when she approached alone. He knew she was standing on the shore, because he'd heard her small gasp.

"Arthur…." She splashed into the lake and stood on the other side of the boat, facing Merlin. "What happened?"

"Mordred…" Merlin said, as if that could answer everything.

Except it did. Gwen understood immediately what he was saying. "The prophecy…." She nodded as a tear streamed down her face. "About the Druid who would slay Arthur…"

"You knew of the prophecy?" he was surprised. "How?"

"When Sefa was arrested for treason and Ruadan came to break her free… the knights killed him… he had an ancient prophecy that he carried with him. It was about a Druid that would kill Arthur… I didn't believe it at first because Ruadan thought himself to be that Druid…. And he was dead… but I should have…" she placed her hand over her husband's and a sob broke from her lips. "I'm so sorry…"

"Gwen, there's nothing you could have done to prevent this…" Merlin placed his hand over hers. "Believe me… I tried."

She looked up at him. "We have to get him back to Camelot, so the people can properly mourn their king."

"No." he shook his head.

"What do you mean no?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Arthur has to be buried here." Merlin nodded toward the boat.

"But… he has to be placed in the vaults with his ancestors…. With his father and mother… it's… tradition." She tried.

"Since when has Arthur ever been one for tradition?" they both laughed softly for the first time in what felt like a long time together.

Gwen wiped the tears that continued to flow down her face. "But I won't be able to visit him if you send his body into the unknown…"

"He's not going into the unknown, Gwen…" Merlin sighed sadly. "He's going to Avalon…"

"I don't understand…" she shook her head with confusion.

"There's another part to the prophecy…" he continued. "One you don't know about. Arthur isn't just a king, Gwen. He's the Once and Future King. He'll rise again when Albion needs him most. But he can only do that, if we send him to Avalon now."

"So… he'll come back to me?"

"He'll always come back to you…" Merlin smiled. "What you two have transcends through time and space. Just like Arthur is the Once and Future King, you are his Once and Future Queen. You'll rise, when he rises. You'll find each other again. Maybe not in this life time, but in another you will."

"I know who you are, Merlin…"

"I thought you might have." He nodded sadly. "I'm sorry I lied to you all these years…"

"I'm not angry about that." She whispered with a smile. "Did Arthur know?"

"He found out two days ago when I told him…" Merlin nodded.

"Then he knew." Gwen smiled. "And he accepted and trusted you. And so do I."

Merlin smiled softly, squeezing her hand in his.

"And if you say that I will see my husband again, then I trust that too." She finished looking down at the man she loved and would love until the day she died. She snapped her face back toward her old friend. "When I die… will I…?"

"You'll join him in Avalon." Merlin nodded. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Merlin."

He smiled. "You ready?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled looking down at her husband again. "Not really…"

"Gwen…" he said her name to get her attention. "It's time. We both have to do this. Only we can send him off to his final resting place. But your heart has to be in it. You have to say goodbye."

"But… it's hard…" her face crumbled realizing this was it. This was the moment she would never see that face again. Those blue eyes will never open again and turn toward her with a smile that melted her insides. "I don't know if I can, Merlin."

"I'm right here…. You can do this. Arthur believes in you too. He always did. And so did I." he encouraged her. "You'll find each other again."

"What if we don't?" she asked. "What if we do something wrong and never find each other?"

"That won't happen." Merlin shook his head.

"How do you know that?" she asked exasperated. This was still new to her. Trusting Merlin was familiar, but trusting magic was still foreign. And Merlin was undoubtedly magic. How could she know that all these prophecies would come true?

"Because I'll be there." He answered snapping her attention back toward him. "I'll always be there."

She smiled. "We'll find you too."

"Of course…" he grinned. "I'm your official third wheel through all the ages."

She found that a laugh escaped her lips despite the somber mood. Merlin was a good friend. She'd always trusted him and his judgment. She had to trust him now. She nodded and placed her hands on the other side of the small boat. She'd silently told him she was ready. It was time.

Together, they both pushed the heavy boat further into the water. They watched together as the boat float away from them and toward Avalon. The further it went the more her heart broke. But somehow she'd also felt a certain peace around her. This was right. Arthur was not meant to return to Camelot because the people needed to remember him as their warrior king, not their fallen sovereign. She finally understood. Merlin wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. She placed a hand over his and squeezed back. She was okay. Merlin had been her best friend for a long time. When she'd married Arthur, their relationship had changed somewhat for propriety's sake, but the trust was still there. As was their silent dialogue. With a single look or a touch, they could communicate an entire conversation silently. Arthur would usually get jealous and pout at being left out of their silent talks he believed were about making fun of him. But he would smile knowing that the two most important people in his life were the ones to send him off. Gwen smiled feeling the peace she felt start to heal her broken heart. This was not goodbye.

_Goodnight, my sweet husband. We'll see each other again one day._


End file.
